San Francisco Mayor's Cup Charity Golf Tournament

   Representing the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance at the Mayor's Tourney 

 I was pleased to participate the San Francisco Mayor's Cup Charity Golf Tournament at TPC Harding Park.

Mayor Ed Lee welcomes sponsors at breakfast

This annual event, created and promoted by Mayor Ed Lee, supports a variety of great charities and causes including The First Tee of San Francisco, The Asian Law Caucus, and San Francisco Mayor's Women's Golf Council.

Lisa Villasenor and I represented the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance as a sponsor of the event.

 

The tournament is 4 person team scramble. Lisa and I were teamed with Mike and Jay of CourseCo and Boundary Oaks.

It was a fun day, helped by shots of Patron provided by an unnamed female member of our foursome. As far as the golf is concerned, our group made judicious use of paid mulligans and "magic putts" to post a a respectable 62. I think we finished 3rd in the "Co-Ed" flight.  Some pics from a fun day:

Lisa  stripes one off the tee

Found a fellow Cubs fan. We shared a celebratory shot for the World Champs

Jay's approach shot while Lisa looks on

I believe Mike's approach was inside Jay's

Mayor Lee presents the trophies:

The winning Co-Ed team. I'm not saying they had a ringer, but that's

  Kay Cockerill of the Golf Channel and LPGA tour.  Just sayin'

Winning teams shot 54. 

A beautiful day ending with a spectacular sunset over a great course

Civic Duty, Civic Center, Civic Art

After exercising our civic responsibilities at a "Meet & Greet" with San Francisco City Supervisor Scott Wiener, we were stopped cold at the Civic Center by the sight of giant bunnies in front of City Hall. More on that later. But first a word about Scott ...

In addition to being a SF Supervisor, Scott Wiener is a candidate for State Senate.  He received national attention last year and became a local political hero after chastising a Fox News reporter that was chasing him down at City Hall.

@Scott_Wiener We need common sense on @SFBOS. You're as close as we get in #EssEff & this'll burnish ur Progressive bona fides w voters.

— The Dividist (@Dividist) July 15, 2015

Yes I am supporting him, even though he is a Liberal Democrat, which does not necessarily align with my political views. However, in the pantheon of San Francisco politics, as exemplified by the Board of Supervisors, the political spectrum runs from Liberal Democrat on the right, to Radical Progressives in the center and Maoists on left.

Scott takes on the tough issues, applies a liberal dose of common sense, and is not a fiscal illiterate like many of our other Supes. He is a technocrat with a detailed command of the issues facing the City, and he is a supporter of my pet issue in San Francisco. Finally, he is tall. Very, very tall. He is the tallest guy in City Hall, and he will be the tallest State Senator in Sacramento. So there is that.

Back to the Civic Center...

Apparently the name of the installation is "Intrude" and the artist is Amanda Parer.

"Five gigantic rabbits hopped into San Francisco's Civic Center Plaza on Monday, and they've got a 24-hour security guard watching over them. After vandals repeatedly tampered with Super Bowl 50 signs on display around the city in February, it was decided around-the-clock supervision was necessary, CBS San Francisco reports. 

The 23-foot-tall inflated nylon art pieces glow from the inside at night. The large-scale public art installation Intrude was designed by Amanda Parer, an Australian artist living in Tanzania, and will be on display through April 25."

 How can you not stop and take pictures of a 23 foot tall illuminated inflatable rabbits? Fortunately, I had a model with me for the photoshoot:

 

 But is it "Art"?  You got me.

Handel's Messiah at Grace Cathedral

Put this in the category of "Great Things in EssEff That We Ignore For Decades and Finally Get Around to Doing".

Grace Cathedral is an iconic San Francisco treasure just a few blocks from where we live. Despite being in San Francisco for 33 years and in the neighborhood for 23 years, we've never been inside.

Not unlike our experience with Alcatraz, it took an art event to correct this oversight. The event was the 17 year Christmas tradition of the American Bach Soloist's annual performance of Handel's Messiah at Grace Cathedral:

It was a great way to experience the Cathedral and we got two birds with one stone. While we've heard the Hallelujah Chorus many times, of course, we've never actually experienced the entire Messiah.  One lesson learned - it is a long piece, and the "Reserve Seat" folding chairs on the side are not the way to go.

This is an Episcopal Cathedral, there are cushions in "Orchestra Seat" pews which would make for a more comfortable experience. Lesson learned.

After the performance we walked across the street for cocktails at the Big Four, then strolled through Huntington Park to enjoy the Christmas lights.

We'll need to come back and tour Grace Cathedral during the day in order to really appreciate the stained glass and perhaps walk the labyrinth. Hopefully, in less than a decade.

Time To Vote - Election Day in San Francisco

I think I've already made my position clear on the most important elective office in today's ballot in The City. As it turns out, there are some other elective posts and propositions on the ballot.  Here are the Chron Endorsements:

And the Alice B Toklas LGBT Democratic Club Endorsements:

And the SF Moderates Endorsements:

The interesting bit about these diverse endorsements is that all of the preferred candidates for all of the elected offices by those three organizations are exactly the same. Who am I to disagree?

MW Brigade Election Selections:

Done deal. Still prefer voting in person on the "day of" the election rather than casting an absentee vote by mail.

While completing my ballot, I listened to poll workers patiently explain for the umpteenth time that if you vote for the same candidate on the three Ranked Choice Voting options, your ballot will be invalidated. The simple fact is that Ranked Choice Voting is confusing for voters, subject to "gaming", and will never be as accurate a reflection of voter intent as is a simple "top two" runoff.  I am reminded again of the final word on San Francisco's election process as perfectly articulated in the November, 2011 edition of Walter Hinkle's Argonaut:

"Let us express our complete and unqualified contempt for the city’s system of ranked choice voting and taxpayer financing of campaigns."

Exactly. Nothing to do now but wait for the results and hope for the best. Stay tuned. We'll update this post as the results come in...

UPDATE: 11:00 PM

The results are in. Among the elected offices, six of my seven choices prevailed. The big one was, of course Vicki Hennessy with 60% plurality over Ross Mirkarimi's 30% vote. Our long civic nightmare is over at last. My loser was also a big one. I live in District 3, and Aaron Peskin defeated Julie Christensen by a decisive 53% to 43% margin. It's all about Chinatown in this district, and Rose Pak proved to be a bigger power broker than Lee.  I can only hope that Peskin has mellowed since his last stint on the Board of Supervisors and is not the same flaming asshole he was then.  TBD.  Rank Choice Voting was not a factor in this election, and that is a good thing.

As far as the props are concerned, it was a mixed bag, which I expected. Five of the eleven props went against my voting preference. However the ones I cared the most about - No on D, No on F, No on I, all went down to defeat.  All in all, a good election, except for Rose Pak's new pocket supervisor.

UPDATE II: 04-November-2015

Chron columnist C.W. Nevius has his finger on the pulse of the City. His take of the election gets it mostly right on Lee, Mirkarimi, and the Props,  I just hope he got it right on Peskin:

"Much will be made of Aaron Peskin’s win in District Three, but I fail to see it as the end of the civilized world. Peskin is no Chris Daly — the polarizing F-bomb thrower. Peskin is smart and knows how to figure the angles. You can deal with him — just be sure to count your fingers after you shake hands. 

And one more thing. Peskin campaigned his butt off. Every day there was another story of a Peskin sighting, on a corner in North Beach chatting up voters or attending a neighborhood meeting. I even heard he’d contacted a Republican group about speaking to them. 

The point is, this is no hobby. Peskin is all in for city government. Good. Now let’s see forward-thinking legislation and not just attempts to stymie the mayor. A good sign is he spoke with Lee on Wednesday."

TBD. I do find it interesting how the EssEff Progs were so incensed when "power broker" Rose Pak backed Ed Lee for Mayor, but were much more sanguine about her influence in Chinatown when she supported Aaron Peskin in D3.

Rose Pak backing Ed Lee

Do not mess with Rose

Rose Pak backing Aaron Peskin

x-posted on my other blog

Dear San Francisco, It's not our fault we have an incompetent buffoon for Sheriff. 62% of us voted against Mirkarimi. Blame Ranked Choice Voting. In the name of all that is good and holy, let's fix this. - Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Apparently there are people who are still intending to support our incompetent, unqualified, national embarrassment of a Sheriff (I mean, people beside his wife Eliana). No... really... I have it on good authority that there are people who are going to vote for him. I know. Weird. 

As a public service, I have curated a representative sample of articles and commentary culled during Mirkarimi's tenure as San Francisco Sheriff:

• Scandal Plagued Sheriff Limps To Election Day - New York Times
• San Francisco Sheriff's Driver License Suspended for Not Reporting Crash - ABC 7 News
• Reluctant Range Boss Transferred, Mirkarimi Fails Gun Test - SF Gate
• Sheriff Mirkarimi Suspended Without Pay - Bay Citizen
• S.F. has a sheriff who can’t shoot straight - San Francisco Chronicle
• San Francisco Sheriff Has Blood On His Hands - Ricochet
• Ross Mirkarimi Guilty: SF Sheriff Pleads Guilty To False Imprisonment - Huffington Post
• Ross Mirkarimi: Ethics Commission Says Sheriff Is Guilty of Official Misconduct - SF Weekly 
• Dianne Feinstein blames SF Sheriff’s Department In Kathryn Steinle Death - Washington Times
• SF Sheriff Mirkarimi Charged With 3 Misdemeanors In Domestic Dispute - CBS SF Bay Area
• S.F. Sheriff Mirkarimi guilty of misconduct in domestic violence - LA Times
• Steinle Family Files Claims to Hold SF Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi Responsible for Daughter's Death
• Deputies Union Files Grievance Against Sheriff Mirkarimi Over Pier 14 Shooting Suspect - NBC
• Sheriff’s managers endorse candidate — and it’s not Mirkarimi - SF Gate

And let's not forget this ...

You're welcome.

 One would expect that Sheriff Mirkarimi might have a tough time getting reelected given his record, but this is San Francisco. So who knows? Give him credit - he is actively courting some previously overlooked constituencies to his cause. First, he's locked up the Criminal Illegal Immigrant Vote, who flock to San Francisco's Criminal Sanctuary City status. Expanding on this previously untapped criminal voting block,  Ross Mirkarimi recently appealed to the domestic San Francisco criminals for their vote. He is fighting to eliminate bail for indicted criminals in San Francisco and release arrested crooks from jail before trial.  Political genius. With San Francisco's booming crime wave, this could very well be the swing vote needed to put him back in office. Look, I know this sounds batshit insane, and I don't want this to sound like I am saying I told you so...  Wait. That is exactly what I am saying.  I told you so...

In fact, this is when I told you so on 11/11/11,  shortly after his election:

"Mirkarimi is not one of my favorites. Who knows what damage he'll do to the Sheriff's Department. We probably should start on the recall petitions now."

And a few days later, this is when I told you so about Ranked Choice Voting:

"In the Sheriff's election I've no doubt that in a 2 way runoff our completely unqualified sheriff-elect Ross Mirkarimi would have lost to either the 2nd or 3rd place finishers who split the qualified vote and did not campaign in tandem to defeat Mirkarimi. Others disagree. That is the point. Nobody knows, because voters were denied the opportunity to make a clear, simple unambiguous choice between the top two candidates."

Then shortly after Mirkarimi took office as Sheriff, I told you so again and again:

"Like Jean Quan in Oakland, Ross Mirkarimi's election was a triumph for Ranked Choice Voting... "   

"Cunnie and Miyamoto split the rational vote with 55% of votes cast. Under the confusion of and vagaries of RCV, Mirkarimi is elected Sheriff even though 62% of first choice votes were cast against him. If there was a follow-up "top two" runoff election, he has no chance of becoming Sheriff. But there was no runoff election. Welcome to Ranked Choice Voting in the People's Republic of San Francisco."

They say you get the government you deserve. But I say the City of San Francisco is getting a bum rap. It was the confusion and game-playing of Ranked Choice Voting that put Mirkarimi in that preposterous uniform. So, San Francisco, let's not screw this up this time. It is time to put our long civic nightmare behind us. There are 3 candidates for Sheriff:

• Vicki Hennessey is eminently qualified to be Sheriff
• John Robinson is not qualified to be Sheriff but would still be a better choice than Mirkarimi
• Ross Mirkarimi is not qualified to be dog catcher and is an embarrassment to the City.

This is how the San Francisco ballot works. You can make three choices for Sheriff of San Francisco County in order of preference. This is how your vote should be ranked:

1. Vicki Hennessey
2. John Robinson (if you want) 
3. Blank or Anybody else on the planet except Ross Mirkarimi. 

VERY IMPORTANT! UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU ENTER ROSS MIRKARIMI'S NAME FOR FIRST, SECOND, OR THIRD CHOICE!

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

X-Posted from my other blog.

I am going to BenioffLand!

In what has become an annual pilgrimage, I strolled down the hill to collect my free registration badge and gaze in wonder and awe at the spectacle that is DreamForce 2015. The annual rock show, charity benefit, technology conference, social awareness pontification platform, celebrity worship,  publicity spotlight for every progs favorite CEO, new age mindfulness mysticism and conspicuous excess extravaganza has once again taken over the EssEff Convention Center complex. As per usual, all intersecting streets and practically every venue and restaurant in a two mile radius were dedicated to the show.

I don't know when the DreamForce user conference event completely untethered from the very successful but rather mundane software application company SalesForce that sponsors it, but there it is -  an event like a hot air balloon floating into the sky unrestricted by earthbound restraints of profitability or shareholder value, with only the most tenuous connection to the actual product that SalesForce sells.

I've given up trying to understand it. Perhaps, like Burning Man, it is an event that exists outside the realm of rational explanation. Something to simply experience, to roll around in the wind blown dust of shareholder profits, take it all in, and bask in the beneficent fire of the marketing genius and force of personality that is Burning CEO Marc Benioff.

Whatever.  Some pictures and random observations in my few hours at the circus...

The 2nd Weirdest Thing I Saw:

This was the DreamForce Free Speech Zone. No one was there. I don't know what this means.

The Weirdest Thing I Saw:
The Marc Benioff for President Campaign. Disturbing. I was very concerned that someone was taking this notion seriously.

Relieved. "@Benioff for President" is a @SalesLoft #DF15 marketing gimmick. #WellPlayed http://t.co/rkl0yFYmGw pic.twitter.com/iygqAEBpMP

— Mike Wallach (@MWatLarge) September 18, 2015

As it turns out, it was just a Marketing Campaign by SalesLoft. Quite a relief.

The Most Ridiculous Thing I Saw:
Was this line at 4:00 to get into the Panel with Gayle King, Susan Wojciki and Jessica Alba on Women's Innovation Panel:

It was ridiculous because there were plenty of seats, and at 5:00, when the panel discussion began, you could just walk in and sit down. Which I did.

About 15 minutes in, finding the discussion to be less than illuminating, I considered leaving. Which I did.

The Most Concerning Thing I Saw (for shareholders):
It is an investment axiom that when a company starts to build a grandiose new headquarters, it is time to sell the stock. This is SalesForce's new headquarters under construction:

Just Sayin'

The Coolest (and creepiest) Thing I Saw:
These guys - TalkIQ...

A new small startup located in the Presidio, TalkIQ is offering something truly innovative. In this case, I am using the word "innovative" in the old sense of something unique, new, and possibly game changing. As opposed to the more common use of "innovative" as a mandatory adjective for every company and product on the planet. I mean - How many "innovative" Configure, Price, Quote application companies do we need? But I digress.

They claim their product will listen to your sales call, transcribe it real time, analyze it based on their "conversational science" algorithm, update your SalesForce opportunity account, and send a report to you and your boss. Kind of Orwellian (as all good software is these days), but also potentially a real time saver, sales acceleration and sales skill improvement tool.

I have a hard time believing it actually works, but then I have a hard time believing that "Siri", "Cortana" or even "Okay Google" work as well as they do. One to watch.

I only went for one day. One day was enough.

The Celebrity Cruise ship "Infinity"- renamed "Dreamboat" served as a temporary hotel for the event.
Here the relieved ship and crew sail out of San Francisco Bay after disgorging 1,100 attendees.